Helmut Rechenberg (November 6, 1937, in Berlin – November 10, 2016, in Munich) was a German physicist and science historian.

Biography

Education

Rechenberg studied mathematics, physics and astronomy at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

and graduated in 1964. At Munich, his work was in experimental physics, studying the magnetism of solids. He moved to the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Munich, where he became

Werner Heisenberg Werner Karl Heisenberg (; ; 5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist, one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics and a principal scientist in the German nuclear program during World War II. He pub ...

's doctoral student. In 1968, he graduated with a doctorate on

quantum field theory In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines Field theory (physics), field theory and the principle of relativity with ideas behind quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct phy ...

Career

From 1970 to 1972, he worked at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, collaborating with

George Sudarshan Ennackal Chandy George Sudarshan (also known as E. C. G. Sudarshan; 16 September 1931 – 13 May 2018) was an Indian American theoretical physicist and a professor at the University of Texas. Prof.Sudarshan has been credited with numerous co ...

on quantum field theory and with Jagdish Mehra on science history. He then returned to Germany and the Max Planck Institute, from which he officially retired in 2002. His six-volume work with Jagdish Mehra on the history of quantum mechanics has been described as "an extraordinary amount of painstaking scholarship". Rechenberg also co-edited Werner Heisenberg's collected works and from 1977 headed the MPI's Werner Heisenberg Archive. After retiring, he wrote a two-volume biography of Heisenberg. From 1991 to 2006, he was also a board member of the

Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft The German Physical Society (German: , DPG) is the oldest organisation of physicists. As of 2022, the DPG's worldwide membership is cited as 52,220, making it one of the largest national physics societies in the world. The DPG's membership peaked ...

's Physics History Association.

References

External links

''Quantum Mechanics on the Move'' film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rechenberg, Helmut 1937 births 2016 deaths German physicists German historians of science Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni University of Texas at Austin faculty